Simulated golf fairway



Dec. 19, 1961 o. A KIRKCONNELL, JR 3,013,801

SIMULATED GOLF FAIRWAY Filed July 30, 1959 Oliver A. Kirkconne/l, Jr Fig.4 32 INVENTOR.

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United States Patent 3,013,801 SIMULATED GOLF FAIRWAY Oliver A. Kirkconnell, Jr., P.O. Box 488, Brownsville, Tex. Filed July 30, 1959, Ser. No. 830,593 4 Claims. (Cl. 273-181) This invention relates to a multipurpose device which may be used in numerous capacities, one of which is as a practice device for the proper stroking and use of all woods and irons in the game of golf.

An object of the invention is to provide'a very simple and practical stop for presenting a surface against which a golf ball may be stroked or driven so that it is unnecessary to have numerous acres of land available for practicing the game of golf while using an actual golf ball. In this way the golfer need not resort to the artificial type of golf ball which is sometimes prescribed to cope with the problem of space in practice golf strokes.

As indicated above the device is actually a multipurpose device which is easily carried from one place to another. Although one of the principal achievements of the invention is that of enabling practical golf stroke practice, the device in accordance with the invention may be used as a back stop for playing baseball or soft ball and may be used in connection with other sports for actual play or practice.

'These together with other objects and advantages which will be subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accornpanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

. FIGURE '1 is a perspectiveview of a device in accordance with the invention showing it erected.

, FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view of one corner of the device in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken approximately on the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of one of the supports of the device.

In the accompanying drawing there is a device which exemplifies the principles of the invention. As is evident from inspection of the drawing this device is very simple from a mechanical standpoint. It is made of a rectangular frame 12 having upright members 14 and 16, and transverse members 18 and 20, all joined to form a closed rectangle. A webbing 22 is secured to all of the sides and is preferably made of twine. The upper corners 26 and 28 of the frame are rounded, while the lower corners are right angle corners as shown in FIGURE 3. Webbing 22 is connected to the frame sides by a special connecting method whose advantages are more fully discussed subsequently. The top and bottom edges of the webbing or netting are secured to frame sides 18 and 20 by ties 23, each of which extends through three meshes of the webbing. The ends of the tie are fastened to sides 18 and 20 by two clove hitches 24. The other webbing edges are connected to sides 14 and 16 by similar ties 25 and clove hitches 24 but at an average'of 2.4 meshes per tie. This is accomplished by having the first two ties engaging two meshes, and the third tie engaging three meshes, etc. In other words there are twenty-eight clove hitch ties connecting 67 /2 meshes on each vertical edge of the webbing. This is important because the manner of attaching the webbing to the frame controls the distribution of slack and tension in the webbing.

Lower transverse frame member 20 abuts the inner surface of upright frame members 14 and 16 at the ends of member 20, and it is spot welded or otherwise fixed in place, leaving the bore of frame members 14 and 16 openadapted to engage the ground, each of said upright frame Patented Dec. 19, 1961 Ice ing downwardly. There is a bevel 30 atthe lower extremity of member 16, and frame member 14 is identically constructed.

Supports 32 and 34 are separably connected with frame members 14 and 16 by having dowel pins 36 and 38 project into the respective bores of frame members 14 and 16. Typical support 34 is made of apiece of tubing, pipe or the like, and pin or rod 38 is welded alongside of the support 34 (FIGURE 3) and lies in a plane perpendic ular to a plane containing the entire support 34. It is evident in FIGURE 3 that when the support 34 is used, the lower surface thereof contacts the ground; the lower end of pin 38 also is ground engaging, and the lower surface of frame member 20 also is ground engaging for a firm and substantial bearing area. Supports 32 and 34 are removable by simply slipping the rods 36 and 38 thereof from the bores of frame members 14 and 16.

In order to assure that the device 10 will remain in a fixed position, especially when wind loads are involved, pins 48 may be driven through apertures in supports 32 and 34 near the ends thereof. The pins are optional.

In use, the device 10 is erected by attaching supports 32 and 34 to frame 12. The device is then set upon a supporting surface, for instance the turf and where anchors 48 are indicated, they are driven in place. Then, the entire surface presented by webbing 22 is available to be used as a back stop for a golf ball or for any other purpose- 'Notice that when the supports 32 and34 are removed from the frame 12, they'may be placed essentially coplanar with the webbing 22 making a very flat package to facilitate storage and transportation.

Although there have been prior back stops, I have found that there is what is considered to be a secret prior .10 this disclosure, making my device 10 practical whereas prior devices constructed somewhat along the same lines as device 10 have not been. The effectiveness of device 10 lies in the equal distribution of slack of the netting, so as to prevent excessive or any kick back of the golf ball. This is achieved by the method by which the net or webbing is attached to the frame. The webbing is made of one and three-quarter mesh, 15 thread nylon as the thread. The net in one typical embodiment of the invention is 82 meshes wide and 67 /2 meshes high, with 10 meshes double at the bottom. The webbing is attached to the frame 12 with the slack equally distributed throughout by means of a fishermans clove-hitch knot which was only incidentally referred to previously. Thereafter, the knots are sealed and the webbing more firmly held in place by an adhesive, such as painting over the knots 24.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the 8 principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed. 1

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. In a device of the character described, said device comprising a substantially rectangular frame, said frame having a pair of straight, rigid upright frame members spaced from each other, an upper transverse frame member interconnecting the upper ends of said upright members, and a lower transverse frame member interconnecting the lower ends of said upright members and being members having a longitudinal bore opening through the lower end thereof, a pair of elongated stabilizing and support rods spaced from each other and having an upstanding dowel pin disposed at the mid-portionthereo'f and in perpendicular relation thereto, each of said dowel pins being removably inserted in one of said openings and into the bore in the upright frame members, a resilient rectangular webbing of a shape corresponding to the shape of said frame and confined within said frame, said webbing having a plurality of meshes and constttut ing a ball flight-impeding screen, a plurality of flexible tie members secured to each of said upright and transverse members and spaced from each other at predetermined intervals, each of said tie members being secured to an adjacent portion ofsaid ball flight impeding screen, and ground-penetrating anchor means carried by said support rods to securely anchor said rods on the ground.

2. The combination of claim 1, each of said tie members on said transverse frame members extending through and operatively engaging at least three of said meshes and each of said tie members on said upright members extending through and operatively engaging at least two of said meshes.

3. The combination of claim 2, each of said tie members being secured to its associated frame member by means of at least one clove hitch knot carried by said member, and an adhesive covering each knot and engaging said frame to thereby seal said knot to the associated frame member.

4. In a device of the character described, said device comprising a rigid frame disposed in an upright plane, said frame having upright side frame members and upper and lower transverse frame members, support and stabilizing means separably connected to said lower transverse frame member, and a flexible webbing having a plurality of meshes, said webbing being of a shape corresponding to said frame and being disposed within the confines of said frame, a plurality of spaced flexible tie members disposed on each of said upright and said upper and lower members, each of said tie members being secured to a predetermined adjacent portion of said webbing, said webbing constituting a resilient impediment to a ball or other object projected thereagainst, each of said upright members having a longitudinal bore opening through its lower end, said support and stabilizing means comprising a pair of elongated rods adapted to engage the ground, each of said rods carrying an upstanding dowel pin disposed at its mid portion and extending substantially at right angles relative to the longitudinal axis of said rod, each of said dowel pins being coaxially inserted in one of the bores in said upright member, said upright frame members being elongated and of a tubular construction, said elongated rods being of a length substantially greater than one-half the length of said upright member, each of said upright members being disposed substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of one of said elongated rods thereby forming an impediment to a ball approaching the webbing from either side of the frame, the lower end of each upright-frame member having an inclined surface having the uppermost edge disposed outwardly, each dowel pin being tangential to the elongated rod to which it is attached whereby the inclined surface of the lower end of the upright frame member engages the surface of the elongated rod adjacent opposite edges of the pin for maintaining the rod in perpendicular relation to the upright frame member and the lower transverse frame members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 814,367 Given Mar. 6, 1906 1,565,464 Kay Dec. 15, 1925 2,008,123 Bartlett July 16, 1935 2,628,097 Lecznar Feb. 10, 1953 2,657,058 Mulcahy Oct. 27, 1953 2,819,901 Mateja Jan. 14, 1958 2,839,300 Blaha et a1 June 17 1958 2,895,737 Blees July 31, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 194,207 Great Britain Mar. 8, 1923 465,911 Germany Sept. 27, 1928 724,244 Great Britain Feb. 16, 1955 

